Sunday, November 22, 2009

There's a common recipe ingredient list instruction, where the amount of something that you need will be given followed by the word "divided"; e.g. 1 3/4 cups sugar, divided. I tend to screw this up myself, since I often kind of cook from the ingredient list without really reading the instructions, so I put in all the sugar when I was only supposed to put in that 3/4 cup. A lot of times I alter the method with my own method, because I know what I'm doing, yeah right. The idea behind the "divided" instruction is that it's better for the recipe to lay out the total amount of an ingredient needed right at the outset. There are other styles of recipe writing; Joy of Cooking tends to give ingredients embedded in the method, like the lebkuchen recipe I just followed which begins:

Stir in 1 cup flourthat has been sifted with 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp baking powder, and a pinch of salt

Add1 cup flour1/2 cup chopped almondsetc. etc.

I made the honey butter syrup, mixed all the other ingredients in a big bowl, then stirred in the syrup. But I had to read the recipe a little carefully to apprehend the fact that it really needed two cups of flour, not just one.

Anyways, I feel kind of like that 1 3/4 cups sugar, divided, right now. I am trying to start cookie season, at the same time as planning Thanksgiving dinner, and it's making my little brain hurt. Thursday night I made my master list of cookie kinds, and yesterday I went shopping partly for cookie ingredients, and partly for Thanksgiving food.

This morning I got up and walked, then baked some scones, to eat today and to have around when family shows for Thanksgiving, and made the lebkuchen. But I'm also making the list of Thanksgiving apps, and taking time off tomorrow to clean and straighten the house like my bro's doing at his place.

The main thing I can't figure out is where to stash all the cooking mags and recipes I have pulled out for cookie season, when I go into total tidying mode tomorrow. Usually I just leave them on the dining room table for the duration, but that won't work with this year's divided cookie season, with Thanksgiving in the middle.

About Me

I'm a librarian who previously worked for over a dozen years in the food biz - I wanted to be an artist and came out of college with a BA in art history, which turned out to be the qualifying degree for restaurant work. My favorite thing to do is cook for people, and I love to research and write recipes. I currently am involved in a number of food-related projects, including writing this cooking blog, trying to become a better food photographer, and operating a private dining club - School Woods Supper Club, at schoolwoods.com